Exposure
by secretchild
Summary: A Vegas escape may turn deadly when Abby and Tony find themselves stranded in the middle of the desert.  Set immediately after "Family"  S05E02 .  Abby/Tony friendship early on, later hurt/sick!Tony and Gibbs/Tony father/son.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: I'm still here! And I actually wrote something that wasn't a) a one-shot and b) for a writing challenge! I'm scared now. -)_

_This story takes place immediately after "Family" (season 5, episode 2), when Tony is still dealing with the fallout of his relationship with Jeanne. That's more to set the stage, though; the fic itself is shaping up to be mostly whump and friendship, with Tony/Gibbs father/son in later chapters if all goes as planned. _

_As always, feedback is very welcome! _

* * *

After ten solid minutes of pacing, an inner lecture on how ridiculous it was to be avoiding Abby - _Abby_, of all people! - and several mental headslaps, Tony squared his shoulders and rounded the corner into Abby's lab. The usual dulcet tones of Brain Matter echoed through the room, but Abby herself was nowhere to be seen. After a quick peek into her empty office, he sighed and let himself relax. A temporary reprieve was better than none.

One of these days, he told himself as his fake smile faded, that little trick wasn't going to work and he was going to find himself with a permanent shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Every six-year-old knows - if you make a face long enough, it might freeze like that.

_And if you play a role long enough, it might become reality. _

His head was pounding in rhythm with the music. Like its owner, the remote seemed to be MIA, so he retreated into Abby's empty office. The room wasn't soundproof by any means but the thick glass brought the noise level from "Space Shuttle Launch" to "Son, would you PLEASE turn that down?" Just the right volume to shut out what remained of the world, Tony decided as he settled into her desk chair, propped his feet on her desk, and closed his eyes.

He was in the lab under the pretense of finding a pair of scrubs - he was still soaked to the skin after tangling with that stupid lawn sprinkler - but the real aim was to escape the prying eyes of his teammates. They'd been watching him ever since his miraculous return from the dead, and he'd seen their gazes shift from shock at his survival, to annoyance (or was it anger?) at his deception, to pity as they realized the full extent of what he'd lost.

The pity was the worst; it was the one thing Tony could not tolerate. He wasn't the one deserving of pity. Not after lying to everyone for months on end. Not after leading an innocent woman into falling in love with a man who didn't exist, then ripping the illusion from under her and replacing it with the ugly truth: her father was an international arms dealer, under investigation by multiple Federal agencies. And Jeanne herself? Sorry, sweetheart - looks like you're just collateral damage. You know how how it goes. All's fair in love and secret undercover bad guy-nabbing missions.

He could still see the paper in the fireplace, flames curling around Jeanne's words:

_I'm not coming back. You need to choose._

In the warmth of that living room, surrounded by his teammates, wrapped in the glow of the fire and the rescue of a child, it hadn't seemed so hard. What choice was there to make? Could he really walk away from everything? Was he really, as Ziva said, willing to be Tony _DiNardo_ for the rest of his life?

The answer, just those few hours ago, had been simple. It wasn't his life to live, despite the faintly soapy aftertaste the whole mess had left behind. He couldn't click his heels and become Tony DiNardo, film professor extraordinaire, and go riding off into the sunset to live happily ever after. He was Tony DiNozzo, Very Special Agent, Destroyer of Dirtbags. Anything else was just a game.

Except now, shivering in his wet suit in the empty office, he suddenly wasn't so sure. He tried to tell himself that there really_ hadn't _been a choice. There was no place to go from here - he'd lied to Jeanne about everything.

_Not about everything_, a little voice nagged at him. _Not the things that matter._

He hated that voice.

A gentle hand on his shoulder brought him back to the real world. He peered up through bleary eyes to see Abby looking down. "Tony! There you are! I was looking for you earlier – Ziva and McGee said you left really quick with Gibbs, and then Gibbs came back but you weren't with him. Are you OK?"

"Huh?" Tony's physically and emotionally exhausted brain couldn't quite keep up. "Oh - sure, Abs, I'm fine."

"No you're not - you're soaked! McGee didn't say anything about you guys taking a swim – how'd you end up so wet? You shouldn't sit around in wet clothes, Tony – I know you can't technically catch a cold from _getting _cold, but you shouldn't take chances, right? Come out to the lab with me, there should be some scrubs around that'll fit you."

Tony trailed behind while Abby produced a remote from somewhere, flipped off the music, then began to dig around in a cupboard. "The lawn sprinkler was part of their security system. Guess I got a little too close." He reached out and snagged the dry pants and top she tossed his way.

"Look at the positive side," she called as he ducked into her office to change. "They could have had a pack of really mean Rottweilers."

"True. Then this suit really would have been toast. Big pointy teeth tend to do a little more damage than water." Tony emerged rubbing at his hair with his damp t-shirt, which Abby quickly took and replaced with a dry towel. "And where have you been this not-so-dark and stormy night?"

"In the ballistics lab." Abby made a face. "I got some new gel in last week, and it seemed like a perfect time to try it out. And I promise, I wasn't imagining any specific person's face on the target." She looked at Tony a bit closer. "You look like _you_ might need to come back and not imagine any specific person's face on the target."

Tony managed a slight smile. "Don't tempt me, Abs."

Abby studied him for a moment, as if she were trying to make up her mind about something. Just as he was beginning to squirm a little, wondering why on earth he'd ever thought _she_ wouldn't see exactly what was floating around the mess he called a brain, she seemed to come to a conclusion.

"Yep. You definitely need a vacation." She grinned. "Lucky for you, I'm about to GO on vacation. You can come with me!"

Oh. Vacation. Much better than the _buck up, bucko_ speech he was gearing up for. "Sure. Where are we going?" Not that it made much difference. At this point, anything sounded better to Tony than sitting in the bullpen, trying to avoid the stares and witty comments from his teammates. He knew McGee and Ziva were only teasing him…sort of. There was an edge to their joking that made Tony cringe every time he heard it. _I was on assignment!_ he wanted to yell. _I wasn't doing it to screw with you!_

"Nevada."

Tony's ears perked up. "Nevada, as in Vegas? You're going to Vegas and you didn't invite me?"

"I just did," Abby said. She shifted a bit, chewing her lower lip. "And…well, I'm not exactly going to Vegas."

"What else is in Nevada? Wait – you're not doing one of those Outward Bound, live off the land, kill iguanas for food things, are you?"

"Tony. Do I look like the Outward Bound type?"

He shrugged. "You've surprised me before."

"I own a parasol."

"Good point. So," he said, hopping up to sit on the edge of the counter. "Where are we going?"

Abby pulled herself up to join him. "Well, I have this friend who owns an alpaca farm a couple of hours from Vegas. She's been begging me to come visit, and I had some time, and I've never seen an alpaca but I really like llamas and they're kind of similar, so…"

"Alpaca farm?" Tony burst out laughing. "Oh, man, that's good, Abs. I needed that. Alpaca farm – beautiful! Seriously, where..."

Tony's laughter died away when he realized that Abby wasn't joining in. "Wait a minute…you _are_ serious."

She nodded, pigtails bobbing.

"You're really going to Nevada to…see alpacas?"

"Not exactly – I'm going to see Tina. The alpacas are kind of a bonus."

"A _bonus_?" Tony got a mental image of himself in cowboy boots and chaps, sitting aside a large, furry, cranky creature. That bounced. A lot. He shuddered. "Don't they spit?"

"That's llamas. At least, I think it is." Abby swung around to face him. "C'mon, Tony, it'll be fun! Vegas is the closest airport, so I'm going to rent a car and drive out. The scenery is gorgeous out there, and I bet you'll love the farm! And you'll really like Tina."

Tony cocked his head. "Tina, huh?"

"Don't get any ideas, Mister." Abby socked him in the arm. "She's fifty."

"Mmmm, an older woman."

"You're horrible, Tony!"

"Yeah." His face shuttered. "So I've been told."

"Oh, God." Abby leaned over to wrap her arms around him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean – "

"It's fine," he said. "Besides, maybe I am."

"No, you're not," Abby said. Her voice was uncharacteristically harsh. "You are not, Tony. It wasn't your fault – you were under cover. They know that. Everyone knows that."

"Yeah, I know." He forced the smile back on his face. "Don't worry about it."

"So you'll come?"

Tony sighed. Visiting an alpaca farm in the middle of the desert fell somewhere between "wrestling a pissed off bear" and "running into Jeanne carrying a knife in a dark alley" on his list of preferred activities. "Abs, thanks for the offer, but you're going to see your friend. You don't need me tagging along."

"Tina won't mind."

"And it's really late to get a plane ticket. Aren't you leaving tomorrow?"

"There's always great last-minute fares to Vegas."

"OK, but I need to ask Gibbs for the time off, and I think he already went home."

"He won't care. Especially if _I_ ask him."

Tony thought quickly. "I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to alpacas."

"Anthony DiNozzo." Abby hopped down from the counter, tugging Tony down with her. "You are coming with me. Period. End of discussion." He started to protest again, but her jaw was set, and he sighed. When she put her mind to it, Abby could out-stubborn even Gibbs. "I'll get your ticket. You go home and pack."

"Abs, you don't have to – "

"You can pay me back. I want to make sure you actually GET it. Now, go." She began steering him toward the door of her lab. "Go home, get packed! I'll pick you up at 6 tomorrow."

"Six _AM_?" Tony squeaked, but a glare from Abby sent him scuttling out the door. "OK, OK, I'm going."

_What did I just get myself into?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks so much to everyone for the reviews! I really love the Abby/Tony friendship, and I miss seeing more of it on the show. Guess that's what fic is for, right?_

_On we go! (The site was being flaky, so if you got the notification for this chapter twice, I apologize!)_

* * *

The sun was blinding when they stepped out of the Las Vegas airport. Tony slipped on his sunglasses, then tipped his head back, letting the heat wash over him. It felt good; he'd been oddly chilled ever since leaving his apartment that morning, but wrote it (as well as his pounding head) off to lack of sleep and a bit too much tequila. He hoisted his bag onto his shoulder, then reached for Abby's suitcase. "Let me get that for you, ma'am," he drawled.

Abby giggled. "Thank y'kindly," she said, her own Southern twang quite a bit more authentic than Tony's. Growing up in Louisiana would do that to you, he supposed. "I think we pick the car up over here," she said, angling across the parking lot with Tony at her heels. "This is going to be awesome!"

Her enthusiasm was contagious, especially when he saw the car she'd reserved. "A Mustang, Abs? Seriously?"

She nodded, fairly bouncing with glee. "I called last night and they had one! I thought you might like to...y'know." She shrugged, trailing off as if she was afraid she'd screwed up somehow. "Is it too soon? I mean, you almost got blown up...you don't have some kind post-traumatic association with Mustangs now, right? I can get something else if you want..."

"Nope. It's perfect." He gave her his warmest smile, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. He stood there for a moment and rested his chin on her head, reveling in the feel of a hug with no strings, with no lies. She was the only person in his life he ever hugged that way, Tony realized. Forcing himself to pull away, he made a show of inspecting the car. "God this is beautiful." He looked up. "I get to drive, right?"

She tossed the keys to him. "Of course! That's the whole point."

Grabbing the keys easily from the air, he unlocked the trunk and dumped their bags inside, then slid behind the wheel to where Abby was already waiting. "You have the map, right?" she asked.

"Map?" he replied with a grin. "Where we're going, we don't need maps."

She socked him in the shoulder. "Trust me, Doc Brown - out here, you need maps. Or a map, at least. Tina lives in the middle of nowhere, and this thing doesn't come with a GPS."

"Of course it doesn't," Tony said. "Ruin these beautiful lines?" He ran his hand lovingly over the dashboard. "Sacrilege, my dear Ms. Scuito." He started the car, pointedly ignoring the map Abby was shoving in his direction, and angled out of the parking space.

"You're not going to be all 'I don't need directions - I'm a guy and we're born with a built-in compass,' are you?" Tony just grinned at her, then came to a stop at the parking lot exit.

"Uh...which way?"

Since Gibbs was not there, Abby handled the headslap on his behalf.

* * *

After nearly four hours on the road, including two wrong turns, one "where the HELL is a gas station because I am NOT pushing this car through the desert" scare, and half-dozen bottles of water, they finally arrived at Tina's ranch. "Ranch" was actually a bit generous; it wasn't much more than a ramshackle house at the top of a low hill, surrounded by acres of fenced-in arid land and a small barn, presumably for the alpacas. The barn actually looked quite a bit newer than the house, which Tony decided later should have been his first clue that he was in for a very long weekend. _Canyon __Ranch __this __ain__'__t_.

Tina was already bustling out to greet them as they pulled up the drive; Tony barely managed to stop the Mustang before Abby launched herself out the door. "It is SO good to see you!" they said in near unison, and immediately started chattering away as if they'd both suddenly discovered they possessed working vocal cords and couldn't wait to share. Tony climbed slowly out of the car, the heat that had felt so good outside the airport now threatening to stifle him.

It was a few minutes before Abby came up for air and spotted Tony standing awkwardly beside the car. "Oh my God, Tony, I'm so sorry!" She ran over and grabbed his hand to lead him back to Tina. "Tony, this is Tina. Tina, this is my friend Tony. He really, really needed a vacation, and since I was coming out here anyway I figured this would be an awesome chance for him to get away for a little while. I knew you wouldn't mind."

"Of course I don't!" Tony barely kept himself from jumping backwards as Tina pulled him in for a hug. Before he could steady himself, she let him go and held him at arm's length. "Tony, huh?" She winked at Abby. "Pretty cute, Abby. Might have to keep this one."

Tony gulped, then forced a grin. "OK, but we're not going to have to get married are we?" Tina looked confused. "Tony and Tina's Wedding? Kind of a satire...oh, never mind."

Luckily, Tina seemed willing to let that go. "Well, let's get you both inside. We've got a bit yet before dinner but once you're settled in I'll give you the grand tour." She led them into the house and up a rickety staircase, which let them out into a narrow hallway. "Guest room's right over here," Tina said. "Only have the one - Abby, you can bunk with me if you want, let Tony here have the room?"

"I can sleep on the couch or something," Tony said quickly. "I don't want to put you out -"

"Don't be silly," Tina replied as Abby nodded in agreement. "It's no trouble at all." She threw open the door to a tiny guest room. "Make yourself at home, Tony. Abby, we're right down this way."

The two women headed off, still chatting, and Tony was left alone to survey his home for the weekend. It wasn't too bad, he decided as he tossed his bag on the floor beside the bed. A little warm, but he _was_ in the middle of the freaking desert. The window opened, but the blast of hot air that came in when he tried it made him decide that he was better off leaving it shut. Instead, he flipped on the ceiling fan and the stale air came to life.

Taking Tina at her word, Tony kicked off his shoes and stretched out on the twin bed. It was surprisingly comfortable, draped with a homemade quilt and two puffy down pillows at the top. Oh, yeah. Not too bad at all.

He yawned, briefly considering the possibility that lying down might not be the best idea. But his head was still pounding, and he felt like he hadn't slept in days. Which wasn't entirely untrue; sleep was elusive of late unless it was helped along by a few drinks.

It was one of many things he tried not to think about too much.

Thankfully, Abby and Tina found their way back down the hall before his mind could wander too far off its pre-approved track. They were still talking; Tony rubbed his temples and considered asking Abby if she had any aspirin, but to be quite honest he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Abby was so excited to see her friend that she'd quit watching him out of the corner of her eye, and he felt for the first time since they left DC that he was finally no longer under scrutiny. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought Gibbs asked her to keep an eye on him.

But Gibbs didn't have to ask, he reminded himself as he followed the two women down the stairs for the grand tour, bearing yet another forced smile. Abby did it all on her own.

* * *

As far as Tony was concerned, their trip had thus far been a highly educational experience. In only three days at Tina's ranch, he learned several very important things:

He hated the desert. He hated the heat, unless it was accompanied by ocean, girls in bikinis, and drinks with little umbrellas. He hated sand and dust, especially the kind that that stirred with each rare breath of wind and found its way into his hair, his eyes, and his lungs.

And he really, really, hated alpacas.

"Cranky little bastards," he muttered, looking down at the toes of his once-immaculate Gucci shoes. Yeah, OK, maybe he shouldn't have worn them to an actual working ranch, but how was he supposed to know the damn things could spit a good ten feet? Apparently he had managed to annoy the creatures from quite a distance, because one had spit on his shoes, and the other...

Tony barely managed to suppress a gag at the memory of the putrid, stinking green slime oozing its way down his cheek. After that encounter, the closest he got to their pen was the porch swing he was currently perched on, waiting for Abby and Tina to say their goodbyes.

And waiting. And waiting.

And waiting.

He was doing his best not to get impatient. After all, he _was_the third wheel on this trip. Abby was being nice just to invite him, and both women had done their best to make him feel included and welcome. And despite his ever-ruminating mind's best efforts, he really _had_enjoyed himself in the end. Tina made a mean chili, which paired nicely with couple of evenings on the porch, Abby curled at his side. McGee wasn't the only one who could tell a story - Tony regaled the women with his favorite tales of the NCIS MCRT (staring one Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, of course), and Abby and Tina themselves had more than a few stories to tell. Tina had worked forensics for the LAPD before retiring to civilian life, and some of her cases made even Tony's eyes widen and his stomach flip.

Now, though, as he stretched his long legs out in front of him and settled back into the swing, the familiar waves of unease began to wash over him again. They brought with them the sense of weariness that he hadn't been able to shake, despite some surprisingly restful nights in Tina's guest bedroom. He had a sneaking suspicion there was more to it than being tired; the past several months still weighed on him, and the more he thought about going back to DC, under everyone's watchful eye yet again, the worse he felt. He didn't _want_ to go back, he realized. Not yet.

Tony refused to let his mind take the next logical step.

_Not __ever_.

Save it, DiNozzo.

To his relief, Abby and Tina chose that moment to swarm back towards the porch, saving him from a mental game of DiNozzo-on-DiNozzo movie trivia to distract himself. He hauled himself to his feet and descended the steps, quickly putting on his sunglasses as the bright sun hit his eyes and set his head pounding again. He managed to smile his way through Tina's goodbye hugs and assured her that he had indeed had a wonderful time, and of course he would love to come back, and yes the alpacas were great, and no he really couldn't marry her and move here full time to become a ranch hand. Abby said something about his butt and a pair of chaps that Tony was glad he didn't fully hear.

Finally, after yet another round of hugs and exhortations from Tina to be careful, they pulled out of the the dusty driveway. "Vegas, baby!" Tony hollered as they turned onto the dirt road. Abby laughed, turned around for one more wave to Tina, then settled in beside him. She linked an arm through his and wiggled over to put her head on his shoulder in an Abby-version of a half hug.

"Ready?" she said, looking up at him. And at that moment, Tony knew that Abby hadn't been fooled by his bright grin and chattering stories. Not for a second.

"Born ready," he replied. She nodded, then nestled her head into his shoulder. Tony forced back a sigh of relief. They would talk about it before the weekend was over - her look made that quite clear - but at least he had gained another reprieve.

* * *

Two hours into the drive, it was becoming quite clear that Tony's headache was not going away anytime soon; in fact, it had been joined by a cough that he managed to hide behind his hand and a churning stomach. Great. Of all the times to get...allergies. Yeah. That was it.

"You wanna drive for a little bit?" he said, trying to sound casual.

"Are you OK?" Abby said immediately

"Are you kidding? I'm great - I'm on vacation, driving through the desert in a Mustang, and I'm on my way to Vegas. What's not to love?" He grinned at her. "Just thought you should get a chance to handle this baby for awhile."

Abby shrugged. "Sure, why not? We can stop at that gas station up there - I was kinda starting to get hungry. Think they'll have a Caf-Pow machine?"

Tony eyed it warily. The little service station looked like a set piece from _The __Stand_ - rural didn't begin to cover it. "Dunno. Does this count as civilization yet?"

To Abby's delight, they had a perfectly serviceable Caf-Pow machine. To Tony's relief, the gas station's selection of Advil and Tylenol was fully stocked. He managed to purchase a couple of packets without being spotted, and dry-swallowed three pills on their way back out to the car. There - that should take care of his headache, at least for now. They'd be at the hotel in a couple more hours, and a night in Vegas never failed to perk him up, no matter what his mood. He couldn't help grinning as he remembered Jason's bachelor party, when they managed to hook up with some Brazilian models (or at least, they _said_ they were Brazilian models, which was close enough) and found themselves...out gambling very late. Right. That was the story they'd told Jason's fiancee, and Tony was sticking to it.

He climbed into the passenger side of the car as Abby slid behind the wheel. "What do you want to listen to?" she asked.

"Driver's choice," he said, trying to stifle a yawn.

"Cereal Killer?"

He winced inwardly at the thought of the heavy baseline pounding in time with his head. Still, the last thing he wanted to do was get Abby worried. A worried Abby was an Abby on high alert, and such an Abby could be dangerous to a Tony DiNozzo who was trying to ignore a possible...OK, maybe not allergies, he decided, rolling his aching shoulders. A cold. Right. A cold.

"Sure. Massacre those Cheerios."

Somehow, even with the sounds of dying grains flowing through the speakers, he managed to settle into the comfortable bucket seat and relax, letting the sun warm his face. His eyes slid shut behind his sunglasses, and within ten minutes, he had dozed off.

* * *

He woke disoriented, not entirely sure where he was or how he'd gotten there. He only knew that he was hot as hell, and being in a moving car was quickly becoming a very bad idea. "Abby?" he muttered.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said, glancing over at him. "Good timing - we're just getting to some really pretty scenery, although you missed this HUGE cactus a few miles back that I swear looked like it had a human face. I named it Bob."

_Desert__. __Nevada__. _He swallowed, his mouth dry, and felt for the bottle of water beside him. "Where are we?"

"The middle of nowhere. Technically we're about three hours from Vegas, but personally I was just excited when we finally hit a paved road."

Tony took a sip of water, then closed his eyes as his stomach immediately rolled in protest. This was definitely not good. He glanced over at Abby. "Think we could stop and grab some more water?" he said.

"I think there's some in the back," she said. "We're still like, an hour from anywhere to stop. I feel like I should be on a horse or a wagon train or something."

Tony forced a chuckle, even as he frantically looked around, hoping a gas station with a bathroom would suddenly materialize from nowhere, like a mirage. No such luck; everywhere he looked, there was nothing but sand, cacti, and tumbleweeds that looked to be straight out of a Warner Bros cartoon. _Shit__. _He felt the color drain from his face as the faint queasiness quickly escalated into full-blown nausea. No way he was going to be able to hide this one.

"Abby, can you pull over real quick?"

She frowned. "Tony, what's wrong?"

"Abs, please..." She eased the car to the side of the road; it had barely stopped moving before Tony had his seatbelt off and was out the door. He managed to make it to the gravel shoulder before his stomach rebelled completely. By the time it calmed, Abby was hovering worriedly at his side.

"Tony, are you OK? Well, wait, of course you're not OK - dumb question, Abby." She glared at him. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

"Carsick," he rasped. He gratefully took the bottle of water she handed him, rinsed his mouth, then spat into the dust. "I'm just carsick, it's not a big deal." His smile was less forced than before as he realized that he was starting to feel better. "Hell, if Gibbs were driving I would have puked about fifty miles back."

Abby giggled, though she still looked skeptical. "Gibbs can even make ME carsick." Still, before he could stop her she had darted a hand up to feel his forehead. "You feel warm."

"That would be because it's about three million degrees out here."

"True." She frowned as they walked back to the car. "You sure you're OK?"

"Never better," he said, only half-lying. "C'mon, let's get moving. I want to see these cacti I've been missing. Bob, huh?"

"Yup," she said, climbing in behind the wheel. "He looked a little like Bob Saget - remember, the guy from...uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?" Tony looked at her. "What kind of uh-oh?"

She turned the key in the ignition again, but the car produced nothing but a faint clicking noise.

"The kind where the car won't start."


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: So...um...long time, no write? Please don't hurt me? ;-)_

_Story time. When I posted my last chapter, I was pregnant with my first baby. My goal was to get this story posted before he was born. He had other ideas. Luckily he was - and is - healthy, happy, and absolutely the coolest kid ever. Still, writing was last on my list of things to do for a while and then my muse took a vacation. (Hopefully not to the desert.) I had wanted to post an author's note to that effect, but the site gets mad when you do that and I didn't want to get my hand smacked._

_I am finally getting back to this and while I can't promise super-frequent updates, I do at least have the story mapped out in my head and am itching to write again. That's usually a good sign. Thanks to any of you who may still be reading after so long! _

_Much love,_

_SC_

* * *

After only ten minutes at the side of the road, the heat was already oppressive. "Try it again, Abs," Tony said, leaning his head back against the headrest. Abby complied, but the car simply made a sad little clicking noise and then went quiet.

"The starter," she said.

"Sounds like it."

"Ohhhh, crap," she murmured, and Tony couldn't help but agree. If it had been a blown tire, or an overheated radiator, that would have been one thing. Fixable, though there would have been the distinct possibility of melting in the heat in the process. A bad starter, though, left them at the mercy of the elements and AAA. "I'll call the people with the big tow truck," Abby said, pulling out her cell phone.

Tony closed his eyes and tried to pretend he was somewhere cold. Maybe Antarctica.

"Oh, crap."

His eyes flew open. "Don't tell me," he said, his heart sinking. "No signal?"

"Nope. Nothing. I think if it were possible, I'd have negative bars."

"Looks like we're in the three percent of America AT&T doesn't cover," he said with a sigh.

"So are, like, half the people I know. Someone needs to check their math," Abby said as Tony pulled out his own phone. Despite being a newer model, with a supposedly more powerful antenna, his phone too had no signal.

"Nothing," he said, snapping it shut a little too hard.

"I don't get it - how can there not be any service at all? Don't people need phones out here?" Abby said. "What if there's an emergency or something?"

"You're assuming there are people out here to need phones in the first place," Tony said.

"That's a good point. Considering that I am a student of forensics, and I place my trust in science above everything else...yeah, I have to admit that the evidence doesn't support the "people" theory."

Tony rubbed his eyes, trying to quell the dull throbbing in his temples. Either his nap was wearing off or the heat was starting to get to him - whichever it was, he was feeling like crap again. "When was the last time you saw another car?"

"Not since we left the gas station." Abby bit her lip and glanced at him. "Tony, I meant it when I said we're in the middle of nowhere. The only things out here are ranches like Tina's, and they don't have much reason to come down this way, not with Leeland just a bit to their north. We're at least thirty miles from the nearest...well, the nearest anything."

The flash of fear in Abby's eyes told Tony more about the seriousness of their predicament than anything she could have said. The heat was already bearing down on them, and without a working starter, they couldn't even run the air conditioning until the car called it quits. Tony wiped a trickle of sweat from his forehead and forced himself to sound unconcerned. "OK, so, we wait. Someone HAS to come along eventually." Abby looked at him skeptically, but he went on. "We stay in the shade and drink our water and, I don't know, hunt lizards or something. There are lizards out here other than the kind that have hallucinogens on their skins, right? Although that could be fun - lickable LSD."

"Those are toads, Tony," Abby said, and despite the tension in her voice she managed a small smile. "They live in Australia. I don't think there are any drug-secreting reptiles out here."

"Worth a try," he shrugged, then quickly smothered a cough in his elbow. "Dust," he said at Abby's concerned glance. Quickly changing the subject, he opened the door. "Let's see how much water we have."

Ransacking the car yielded four bottles of water, half a watered-down Caf-Pow, and a bag of slightly crushed potato chips wedged under Tony's seat. "Better than nothing," Tony said, emerging from the backseat with his haul. "This should keep us going until someone comes by."

The look on Abby's face echoed his own fears. _IF someone comes by..._

It wasn't long before the heat in the car was unbearable. The two were forced to abandon the leather seats, sticky with sweat, and submit themselves to the baking sun. Tony looked around, hoping for a tree of some sort that would provide a little shade, but the closest thing he saw was a giant cactus which - to his relief - did not look a thing like Bob Saget.

"Over there?" he suggested to Abby. "Better than nothing, right?"

Abby looked at the cactus, then back at the car. "Sure, that will work," she said. "We don't want to get too far from the road, though, just in case someone drives past. I want to be sure they see us. Oh!" She ducked back into the car and rooted around until she came up with a pen and a piece of scrap paper. After scribbling on it for a minute, she held up the makeshift sign to display to Tony. "What do you think?"

The sign was simple and to the point: HELP, in big bold bubble letters. "Perfect."

She placed it in the window facing the road, and they trudged across the sand to the cactus. It wasn't much cooler than the car but at least they had some air. "I guess now, we wait."

"We wait."

* * *

Three hours later, Tony didn't know if he would be able to wait much longer. Each of them had already been through a full bottle of water and Tony had put a sizable dent in his second. The day's forecast called for a high of 97 degrees, but the sun bore down mercilessly, without a single cloud in sight to break the heat. He would be willing to lay odds that it was at least 110 out here in the sun.

_Lay odds..._he'd be doing that right this second if things had gone as planned. He and Abby would be checking into the Bellagio, and he'd be only minutes away from some serious time quoting Ocean's Eleven at the craps table. Instead, he was sitting in the middle of an infernal sandy wasteland, waiting to be rescued.

Tony didn't wait well.

"How far did you say we were from civilization?" he asked.

"At least thirty miles," Abby replied.

Thirty miles. That wasn't so bad. You could hike thirty miles in a day - at least, if you were in really good shape. Which he wasn't, at the moment, but that was beside the point. You do what you have to do.

"We could walk that," he mused. "It might be worth it."

Abby was already shaking her head. "I'm not a survivalist, Tony, but I do know that if you get stranded in the desert, you stay with the car. That's rule number one. Otherwise you end up wandering in the middle of nowhere and someone finds your skeleton a year later after you've been eaten by a wildebeest."

Tony snorted a laugh. "More like carnivorous alpaca," he muttered. "What if we stick with the road, though? Wouldn't that get us somewhere eventually?" But he knew she was right. Thirty miles in 100-plus degree heat, with a bottle and a half of water...that was asking for dehydration, or worse.

The trouble was, staying put could easily go just as wrong.

Tony let his head sink into his hands. They were fucked. They were well and truly fucked. This kind of heat...Tony wasn't stupid. He watched Survivor. He knew damn well this kind of heat could be deadly.

_It'll be OK,_ he told himself. Then he glanced over at Abby. She sat cross-legged on the sand, eyes closed, looking for all the world like she was napping. He watched her slow, even breathing and was forced to smile. "Are you...meditating?"

"I'm focusing," she said without opening her eyes. "Visualization exercises. I'm picturing a car coming down the road."

"Great," he said. "See if you can picture a giant lake instead - or better yet, an ocean, with lots of cute girls in bikinis and ice-cold drinks in tall, sweating glasses..." Abby snorted. "Hey, if you're gonna do it, might as well go all the way."

She just shook her head, unusually quiet, and her lack of response prompted Tony to take a closer look. What he saw left him fighting a surge of panic. Abby's lips were parched, her cheeks flushed bright red, and every so often she would shake her head as if trying to snap herself out of a fog. She looked over and saw him watching her, and gave him a faint smile.

"I think if I were a dog, I'd be panting," she said softly.

"I'd be napping. Working on my doggie tan," he said, trying to keep his voice light. She was getting dehydrated...they were down to a single bottle of water each, and then they would be reduced to trying to get liquid from cacti. Still, the water wouldn't do them any good just sitting there.

"Here." Tony picked up the bottle beside her and pressed it into her hand. "Better drink something. In case you haven't noticed, it's a little hot out here."

"Really? I was gonna look for my mittens." She uncapped the bottle and took a long drink. "Your turn," she said.

He picked up his own bottle and slowly tilted it to his lips, then stopped. He was bigger than Abby; that would mean his body had more water to draw from, wouldn't it? Which would mean that she needed the water more, right?

_Right?_

"Tony," she said, nodding at the bottle frozen at his lips. He took a quick sip, then capped it. His stomach rolled lazily as the water made its way down, and he swallowed hard, begging it to stay put. No sense puking up the little bit of water they did have. After a moment, it seemed his stomach would accept the water, at least on a trial basis, and he let out a slow, relieved sigh.

_Enough of this_, he thought, hauling himself to his feet. "I'm going for a walk."

Abby looked at him as if she wasn't quite sure he had all his senses. _That makes two of us, kiddo._ "A walk? Are you nuts?"

"Probably." He felt around in his pocket, then pulled out his cell phone. "But I was thinking - maybe the car is just parked in a dead zone. That could happen, couldn't it?"

"Sure," she replied. "They're pretty common - I go through one every time I go across the Anacostia. My great-aunt Myrtle almost wrote me out of her will before I could convince her that I really wasn't hanging up on her. Which would have sucked - she promised me my uncle Albert's journal, and he used to do the coolest experiments with beetle shells and - "

"So it could be a dead zone, then?" Tony cut in, hoping to head her off at the pass before he found out what, exactly, Uncle Albert did with the beetle shells - and what happened to the actual beetles.

Abby nodded. "They're related to the positions of the cell towers - sometimes there isn't enough of an overlap and if the signal isn't very strong to begin with, it'll drop. But...I don't think that's the case out here." She looked across the horizon, and Tony followed her gaze. Not a cell tower to be seen.

"You're probably right," he said. "But unless you're hiding a CB radio under the car seat, it's not like we have a whole lot of other options. Besides, what else are we going to do? I tried counting grains of sand but I think even McAbacus would get bored of that pretty quick."

"Don't go too far. Please?"

He brushed a hand across her hair. "You need me to stay, Abs?"

"No." She shook her head and forced a smile. "Just...don't go too far."

Tony almost changed his mind. He had never seen her scared like this. But he was reaching the limits of his ability to fake it - if he didn't walk away for a few minutes and get his act together, he'd end up scaring her even more.

"I won't leave sight of the car. I promise."

She nodded, and he hightailed it back past the car. Once across the road he slowed a bit, trying to seek out a place to sit where he could keep his promise but not be seen. The best he could manage was to duck behind another large cactus. Close enough to hear Abby if she called but far enough - he hoped - that she couldn't hear him.

Tony sank to the ground and finally let the coughs erupt from his burning chest, deep and wet. No longer could he pretend it was just the dust, or a cold, or even the heat. The heat wasn't helping but it wouldn't make him cough like that. It was a doctor-worthy cough, as Abby would say, and he damn well knew it.

He let his head fall to his knees and took a quick inventory. Cough, headache, nausea. So tired he could sleep for a week. Aching muscles. Probably a fever, although it was hard to tell with the sun beating down on his back. The flu, most likely. The kind of thing that would have him on the couch, feeling miserable for a couple of days and then whining and watching movies for a few more.

No couch out here. No movies either.

No food. No water. No real shelter.

_And definitely no whining._

He treated himself to a few more minutes behind the cactus, hidden from Abby's sight, resting his head on his knees and giving in to the swirling heat and haze. Then the coughing started again.

He waited it out, then drew a few slow, deep breaths.

_Game face, DiNozzo._

Forcing himself to his feet, he headed back to Abby.


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Thank you so much for the reviews and congrats on my son! Things are much easier than after he was first born. He is in Full Toddler Mode a lot of the time, but at least he sleeps through the night. ;-) _

_On we go!_

* * *

Tony was halfway across the road when he heard Abby cry out in pain. Heart pounding, his own woes forgotten, he broke into a run and was at her side in seconds.

"What happened?" He dropped to his knees beside her and tried not to picture all the possible things that could have triggered that cry. _Poisonous snake bite, poisonous lizard, poisonous cactus, whatever else they make out here that's poisonous..."_

Abby was huddled on the sand clutching her foot. "I stepped on something - I think it was a scorpion. I put my foot down and I thought I felt something move under it, so I tried to step back but it moved too and my foot landed right on it."

Tony reached over and picked up her foot. He turned it over gently and found an angry red mark on her heel. "Here?"

She nodded. "It's burning like crazy. That poor scorpion!"

"Poor...scorpion?" Tony stared at her.

"Yes! He's just hanging out in the sand, minding his own business and doing scorpion things, and I come along out of nowhere and stomp on him. I probably scared him to death!"

"Abby, it stung you in the foot!"

"It was self-defense. He wouldn't have hurt me otherwise."

Tony sighed, his pounding heart finally beginning to slow. "Forgive me for not considering the scorpion's feelings, but I'm a little more worried about you right now."

"I'm fine," Abby insisted. "Don't blame the scorpion. It just startled me."

_Why is she so worried about the stupid scorpion? _"Well, it scared the hell out of me. Isn't a scorpion sting dangerous? And why are you barefoot?"

Abby shook her head. "Not usually. They just hurt. And I'm barefoot because I was wearing knee-high black boots and it's a little hot out here, OK?"

Tony drew back, startled at the bitterness in her voice. She must have noticed the hurt on his face, because she immediately reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry, Tony. I'm just, I don't know, I'm hot and I'm dizzy and my head hurts and I'm tired and I'm scared and I didn't mean to snap at you. You were just trying to help."

"It's OK," he said with a wry smile. "The heat will do that to you. I'm not exactly Mr. Sunshine. I had some choice words for that cactus across the road."

"I know, but it's really important that we keep a positive attitude. There's always something good if you look for it. Like right now - look over there." She pointed to the west. "The sun's getting lower - I bet it will be cooling off soon."

Tony decided not to mention that it would also be dark, and God only knew what kind of creatures came out in the desert at night. Probably ones that would make a scorpion look like bait. In fact, the scorpions probably _were_ bait. "Can you walk? I think there's a first aid kit in the car."

Abby nodded. She reached up and Tony pulled her to her feet. Leaning against him, keeping weight off her injured heel, they slowly made their way across the sand.

* * *

Night fell none too soon. Abby and Tony were both sunburned, soaked in sweat, and exhausted. The coolness that accompanied the setting sun felt heavenly at first. But as the temperature continued to fall, they found themselves back in the car for - of all things - warmth.

"You OK?" Tony said quietly. They sat side by side in the dark, and he could tell Abby was shivering.

"I'm still a little cold," she said. Tony was too; he had hoped the chills that had been coming and going were from the fever. If Abby was still feeling it, though, they had a bigger problem. No matter how oppressive the heat was during the day, night in the desert could be very cold - and just as dangerous.

"Come here," he said. Abby scooted towards him, and he reached out to pull her close. "Better?"

She nodded. "You're like a human space heater."

"Glad to be of service."

"No, I mean it - you're really warm," she said, and he could almost feel her forehead wrinkle with concern as his body heat registered. "I think you have a fever. Do you feel all right?"

"I'm fine."

"How about by human-Tony standards, instead of superhero android 'I never get sick except for that touch of plague' Tony?"

"Oh, him," Tony said with a wry smile. "He's a pain in the neck, Abs. I try to ignore him."

"I know. You do that too much." She twisted around a bit to look up at him. "Way too much."

Tony sighed. "I was just kidding. Of course I'm hot - I'm sunburned. So are you. Come here." He settled her back against him.

"I still think you're sick," she mumbled.

"We both knew that. So much for the NCIS psych exam." He thought he felt her smile a bit.

"Are you sure you passed the psych exam?"

"Shhh. That's my dirty little secret."

They sat in silence, watching the desert night. The moonlight across the barren sand was otherworldly, and it seemed possible that they were the only people on the planet. Abby must have been thinking along the same lines, as she said, "What if nobody finds us?"

"I figure we can hold out one more day. If we're still here tomorrow night, I'll walk it."

"Alone? No way."

"It's safer here."

"Which is why you're not going alone."

"We'll figure it out tomorrow. Hopefully neither one of us will have to go."

"But if we do, I'm going with you."

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Get some sleep."

"But - "

"Sleep, Abs." He kissed her on top of the head, as he'd seen Gibbs do so many times. The fear in her voice had been unmistakable, and he would do anything to make it go away. Tony knew full well that he could never match Gibbs when it came to making Abby feel safe. Didn't mean he couldn't try.

Abby nestled in against him and fell asleep almost instantly, her breathing slow and even. Thank goodness. She was exhausted; so much heat and sun were too much for anyone, and even his Abby, with her visualization and positive attitude, was feeling the effects.

Tony sat as still as possible, taking sips of water to keep the coughs from escaping his aching chest, listening to Abby breathe and wishing he could join her in sleep. Lord knew his body was tired enough. Trouble was, his mind wouldn't shut up. Every last disaster that could possibly befall them kept running through his head, and all of them laced with the subtle message: _This is your fault, DiNozzo._

It was, no matter what Abby would tell him if he were dumb enough to voice his conviction. Car trouble, she'd say, could happen to anybody - as could getting carsick, and there was no reason for him to feel guilty. Yet he couldn't escape the fact that, if they hadn't pulled over and turned off the car, none of this would have happened. And they turned it off because of him. Because his damned body couldn't handle a simple dousing from a lawn sprinkler without finding some way to get its revenge.

Never mind the fact that he had just spent months undercover, lying to the only woman he had loved since Wendy, sleeping little and never, ever able to relax lest he slip and give himself away. Never mind that he had been held hostage in an icy morgue, unable to give in to his instincts as a cop. He managed still to save Jeanne's life - and then watched a young girl snort heroin from her dead brother's intestines.

And then he destroyed Jeanne with a few words. Just in time to narrowly miss being blown to bits in his own car, after which he watched his carefully constructed double life shatter into a million bitter pieces, every last one of which he tasted as he sat before his director and tried to explain exactly what the hell went wrong.

Yeah. Never mind that. It was the sprinkler that got him sick.

He tipped his head back and let it rest against the back of the seat, letting out a soft sigh. The sigh was his mistake, he realized later. Silly him, thinking he could just breathe like a normal human. Instead, it caught in his throat and he cleared it without thinking - just to relieve the tickle - which opened the floodgates. A few harsh coughs escaped before he could stop them, and he grabbed for the bottle of water, taking a long gulp, hoping to stem the tide.

It worked for a moment; then the water hit his stomach and he knew he was going to be sick, and soon. He had to get out of the car or risk waking Abby - more salient, risk waking Abby's overprotective nature, which was the last thing either of them needed. As carefully as he could, he eased his arm from behind her and opened the door.

"Don't leave," she mumbled, still mostly asleep.

"Just gotta hit the head," he whispered, trying not to choke on the words.

"Don't leave," she repeated, more alert this time, her hand snaking out to grab his wrist.

"I'm not leaving, I promise. I'm coming right back."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Mmmmph." She curled into a ball and was out again, to Tony's immense relief. He closed the door quietly and made it almost out of sight of the car before he had to stop. _Don't...wake...Abby..._

There wasn't much in his stomach and the retching quickly subsided, only to be followed by a fit of deep coughs, each one sending pain shooting through his chest. He was nearly gasping for air before he finally got it under control.

"Dammit," he murmured. He sank down into the sand. It was still warm with the residual heat of the day, and he nestled down into it as a cool breeze swept over him, followed closely by a wave of chills. His energy was fading quickly; without really thinking, he gave into temptation and laid down on his back in the sand, letting its warmth surround him.

Tony wondered if he could get away with just lying right here and never moving again. His heart pounded in time with his throbbing head; his chest ached like hell; his throat burned from being sick; and he couldn't stop shaking. Maybe if he just stayed put, out here in the open air, it would help.

_Sure it will. You'll either be food for the scorpions tonight, or you'll end up baked to a crisp when the sun comes up tomorrow._ Either one didn't sound too bad considering how he felt at the moment. Abby might have her own opinion, though. Still, closing his eyes for a few minutes couldn't hurt. Just a few minutes...

* * *

When Abby woke, it took a few moments of groggy confusion to remember where she was. Finally, her brain kicked into gear.

_Right. Desert. Stranded. Car. Tony._

_Wait. _

She looked beside her, then leaned over to peer into the front seat.

No Tony.

"That's right," she mumbled. "He went to pee." Still, that had been...well, a while ago, anyway. Had he decided to try to walk to the gas station after all? But he would have left a note - he wouldn't go off without telling her.

So where was he?

Abby slid out of the car, shivering in the cool night air. At first she couldn't see anything aside from the looming outlines of cacti, twisting like clouds into monstrous shapes. Then she spotted a set of footprints barely visible in the sand, leading away from the car. And farther away, barely visible was a still shape, not cactus-like in the least, stretched on the ground.

_Tony!_

She covered the distance between them at a dead run, then dropped to her knees beside his still form. To her great relief, he was breathing, but when she put a hand on his shoulder to shake him awake, the heat from his body renewed her fears. She shook him gently, calling his name.

Just when she was about to really begin to panic, Tony stirred beneath her hand. "Lemme sleep."

"Tony, wake up!"

He pushed weakly at her arm. "Don' wanna."

She shook him harder. "Come on, wake up, please!"

Finally, Tony woke completely. He looked up at her through dull, glassy eyes. "Abs?"

"Tony! Thank God - you scared me to death! You can't just leave like that! What are you doing out here?"

Tony then struggled to sit up. The movement triggered a series of harsh, deep coughs, the sound of which made Abby wince in sympathy. "Do you want me to get you some water?"

He shook his head, looking thoroughly miserable, so instead of going back to the car she sat in the sand and put her arms around him. "What's going on, Tony?" she asked, even though she had a pretty darn good idea already.

"What do you mean?"

"Anthony DiNozzo!" she erupted in utter frustration. "Quit playing all macho tough-guy with me. You're sick."

"Am not," he muttered.

"Are too. Let me at least get you some water."

"No. Save it for you."

"Tony, you need to drink something."

"I'm not thirsty."

Exasperation warred with the worry on Abby's face. "Tony! You can't-"

He held up a hand to quiet her. "Shhhhh. Listen." She froze and they both sat, motionless, listening to the still desert night.

"What are we listening to?" Abby whispered.

"I thought I heard something."

"What kind of something?"

"An engine something. Or a snake with a digestive problem."

"If you're trying to distract me -" She stopped as the noise grew louder and a faint artificial light shone from around the sharp curve just up the road.

"Go!" Tony said, but Abby was already on her feet, tearing full speed across the sand, completely ignoring her sore foot. The lights grew brighter and the engine louder as Tony pulled himself up and followed her, coughing as the cool air hit his lungs.

They almost made it.

Abby was only a few yards from the road when the car flew past. Tony caught up with her and they both stood, frozen in disbelief, watching the taillights disappear into the night.

Neither moved for a long while. Finally, Abby turned to him.

"They drove right past us. I can't believe it. They drove right past us." She was dangerously close to tears. "Who does that? Who drives right past someone in the desert in the middle of the night and doesn't stop?"

"They didn't see us, Abs."

"How could they not see us? I was right there, right by the road, you'd have to be blind not to see us!"

"Or not paying attention." Tony opened the car door and climbed in; his adrenaline was ebbing and he wasn't sure how much longer his legs would hold him. "That car must have been doing ninety. Middle of the night, not expecting anyone out here - they would have passed us before they could even see us."

"They had to have seen the car, though! Didn't they? Why didn't they stop when they saw the car?"

"Broken down car in the middle of nowhere, in the desert, late at night, no signs of life? Would _you_ have stopped?"

"Yes," Abby said. She folded her arms stubbornly across her chest, but Tony could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Then you are rare among women, my dear Abby. Hmmmmm, dear Abby...do you get a lot of letters from crazy people?" The fact that she snorted a laugh at his horribly overplayed joke was proof of how upset she was. Abby was pretty good about giving him sympathy laughs, but that one was pushing it.

He gave her a tired smile, then turned away as he began coughing again. The dust stirred up by the passing car floated in through the door, irritating his lungs and making the coughing that much worse. Abby climbed into the car next to him and hovered worriedly as he tried to catch his breath.

"You ARE sick," she said once the spasm subsided.

"Dust?" Tony offered weakly. She glared at him. "OK, fine, I have a cold." Her eyes narrowed. "Or something. It doesn't matter, Abby."

He didn't voice what he knew they were both thinking. In the light of their current situation, a case of the flu really _didn't_ matter much. Not now.

And if they didn't get out of here soon, it wouldn't matter at all.


End file.
